Arman Tsarukyan sends Mauricio Ruffy crashing with vicious elbow KO at UFC 331

Arman Tsarukyan locked horns with Mauricio Ruffy in the five-round co-main event at UFC 331, which went down at the Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles, California.  

Tsarukyan delivered arguably the best performance of his career to make a statement that he is next for the lightweight title opportunity. 

Arman Tsarukyan knocks out Mauricio Ruffy in stunning fashion at UFC 331

Ruffy stunned Tsarukyan with a clean right hand early in the first round, but the Armenian quickly responded by looking for his wrestling.

Tsarukyan pushed Ruffy against the cage and worked for a takedown, but Ruffy showed excellent takedown defense and managed to stay on his feet. 'Batman' had already begun to show signs of damage under his left eye as the fight continued.

After the two briefly separated, Tsarukyan closed the distance again and trapped Ruffy against the cage. He then landed a brutal left elbow that put out the Brazilian cold. He held the striker against the cage before landing another right elbow. 

The second shot sent Ruffy to the canvas completely unconscious, which forced the referee to stop the fight at 4:56 of the first round. 

In the lead-up to the fight, many expected Tsarukyan to win against Ruffy by submission or decision, but the Armenian shocked the world with a brutal elbow that knocked the Brazilian out cold, securing the victory. 

With the win, Tsarukyan extended his win streak to six. This is the type of victory that a fighter needs to demand a title shot, and it would ne wrong to say that ‘Batman’ surely cemented himself as the next in line for UFC gold.

Arman Tsarukyan calls for title shot or Mark Zuckerberg next

In his octagon interview, Tsarukyan stressed that he needed a finish to demand a title shot, so he remained patient and knew he would eventually get the opportunity to finish Ruffy.

“And  of course for my next fight, for the title fight, I need that finish. And uh I knew that I'm going to finish him. Yeah, it was a little bit difficult in the first round, but I knew I have five rounds and my time is going to come, so I was patient,” Tsarukyan said.

Joe Rogan told Tsarukyan that only a title fight next makes sense; the Armenian star responded that he wants a title fight next or jokingly called out Mark Zuckerberg. 

“Title fight or Mark Zuckerberg, I want to fight you next,” Tsarukyan added.

Check out Arman Tsarukyan’s comments below: